St. Joseph altar is a tasty tradition at St. John's in Folsom

The community is invited to join in on the preparation and celebration of the annual St. Joseph's Day altar, which will be set up in Jonathan Hall at St. John Catholic Church in Folsom. This longstanding tradition was brought to the north shore by St. John parishioners Art and Vivian Arnold in 1987.

ELLIS LUCIA / THE TIMES-PICAYUNE St. Josepha altar goodies were readed for St. John the Baptist Church in Folsom last spring.

“No one over here (at St. John Church) even knew how to cook some of the Italian dishes that we put on the altar,” Art Arnold said. “Parishioners from St. Anselm came to us in 1989 to learn how to make a St. Joseph altar and St. Peter came to us after that.”

Arnold, who at one time owned a fine cuisine restaurant in Folsom and hosts the annual “I Care” dinner for seniors citizens at Thanksgiving, is known for his exceptional cooking skills.

“I posted a board outside the church with names of the Italian dishes we needed for the altar and everyone came up to me saying they didn’t know how to cook those fancy dishes,” he said. “I gave them the recipes and that’s how it all got started.”

Arnold said George Aiavolasiti and his wife Gerry were instrumental in getting the altar going because they allowed the parishioners to use their bakery in the evenings to bake cookies for the altar.

It is impossible to mention all of the parishioners who were so helpful over the years preparing the altar. However, during the third year, the late Sidney Huval had a three-tiered form built for the altar. A woman whose name escapes Arnold sewed all of the red, green and white tablecloths for the altar.

“Verna Gatlin was involved from the beginning and several hardworking parishioners who are no longer with us were Henry and Margie Calato and Richard and Sonia Taranto,” Arnold said.

Arnold eventually wrote a cookbook full of recipes appropriate for a St. Joseph’s Day altar. More than 700 books were sold and proceeds were donated to the altar at St. John Church.

“I’m of Sicilian descent and always thought it was a great ritual we brought over from Sicily,” Art Arnold said. “The idea behind it was to dedicate money that is donated to it for a specific purpose that serves the needy.”

The St. Joseph altar played a huge role in Arnold’s childhood since he lived in an Italian neighborhood near Elysian Fields in New Orleans.

“We would walk around the neighborhood to about nine altars; there was one every other block,” he said. “As a child I played the role of Jesus or St. Joseph and we would knock on someone’s door, walk up to the altar and eat, at which point the altar was open to the general public.”

Margaret Mary Mule’, who is the current St. Joseph Altar chairperson, also remembers going to St. Joseph altars set up in homes across New Orleans.

“Some people still do altars in their home but many of them just got too big,” she said. “What I really treasure are the photos of my three boys and the photos of them over the years at the St. Joseph altars.”

On Tuesday, Mule’ and about 30 parishioners will be at Jonathan Hall baking cookies for the altar. Local residents interested in baking fig cookies as well as sesame, anise, lemon and almond cookies for the altar are encouraged to bring an apron and rolling pin. Baking begins at 8 a.m.

The altar will be open for viewing from 9 to 11 a.m. on St. Joseph’s Day, March 19. The Mass of St. Joseph will be celebrated at 11 a.m. after which the Rev. Timothy Burnett, pastor of St. John Church will bless the altar. The public will be served after the blessing.

In addition to the bounty of cookies, parishioners bring in meatless dishes such as eggplant casserole, stuffed artichokes, baked fish, boiled seafood and other vegetable-based dishes.

Everyone who visits the St. Joseph altar will receive a bag with cookies, a medal of St. Joseph as well as a “lucky bean,” which is a reminder of the protection St. Joseph gave the people of Sicily when they suffered a five-year drought. The fava bean is the only thing that would grow and provided them sustenance through the drought.

St. John the Baptist Catholic Church is at 11345 St. John Church Road. For more information about the St. Joseph altar, call 985.796.3757.